This invention relates to apparatus for cleaning elongated hollow instruments. More particularly, it relates to apparatus for the simultaneous cleaning of a plurality of elongated hollow surgical instruments.
Endoscopic cannulated surgical instruments are slender elongated devices which include hollow tubes. Such instruments are used for various surgical procedures. The proximal end of the instrument includes a handle which may have finger receiving eyelets and the like for the surgeon to manipulate. The distal end of the instrument includes various surgical devices, such as cutting and suturing devices. Mechanical couplings in the hollow tube connect the surgical device at the distal end to the manipulating device at the proximal end.
The elongated instruments described above are being used more and more since endoscopic surgery has become popular.
One of the major problems in using these elongated hollow instruments is properly cleaning and disinfecting the instruments after use. Obviously, surgical instruments need to be thoroughly cleaned and properly sterilized between uses. Human tissue, blood and other bodily fluids often accumulate inside the hollow tube after the instrument is used. In addition, some hospitals and other medical facilities have been reusing certain elongated hollow instruments and other devices, such as hollow fiber artificial kidneys, which are designed to be disposable in order to save money.
There have been various scientific studies focused on the cleaning and sterilization of elongated surgical instruments. In an article by Geoffrey J. Gorse and Roberta L. Messner titled "Infection Control Practices in Gastrointestinal Endoscopy in the United States: A National Survey" which appeared in the October, 1991 issue of Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates, a survey was reported on which ascertained the current infection control practices, endoscopic cleaning procedures, and perceive frisk of infection in connection with the reusable gastrointestinal endoscopic devices. Most of the respondents were hospitals. Significantly, this survey found that endoscopic related infections, usually bacterial, were reported to occur at 6% of the institution's responding.
Jean-Gaston DesCoteaux, Eric P. Poulen, Micheline sortie, Gilles Murray and Suzanne Gingras studied the rate of surgical complications relating to reuse of disposable laparoscopic instruments, with the results being published in Canadian Journal of Surgery, Volume 38, No. Dec. 6, 1995 in an article titled "Reuse of Disposable Laparoscopic Instruments: A Study of Related Surgical Complications". The study found that the combined rate for deep and superficial infections was 1.8%.
In an article appearing in the July, 1995 issue of the AORN Journal, Volume 62, No. 1, by DesCoteaux et al, titled "Residual Organic Debris on Processed Surgical Instruments", the investigators studied thirty-two laparoscopic instruments selected at random from the hospital's supply of processed surgical instruments. Visual inspection revealed that only twenty-nine of thirty-two of the laparoscopic instruments appeared to be clean. Microscopic examination using a photo micrographic system revealed residual debris on twenty-seven of thirty-two of the laparoscopic instruments.
There are various methods and apparatus for washing elongated surgical instruments taught in the patent literature. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,317 issued to Bowman et al teaches the cleaning of a single endoscopic cannulated instrument, i.e., one instrument is cleaned at a time.
There is a need for an inexpensive and easy to use apparatus for simultaneously cleaning a plurality of elongated surgical instruments.